


The Return

by TempestHeart



Series: What About Us [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Romance, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-28
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2019-03-25 03:08:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13825194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TempestHeart/pseuds/TempestHeart
Summary: A relationship that starts anew.





	The Return

Five years and the world has moved on without her. Waking up from carbonite and realizing that not only has the galaxy changed, her whole life is gone - it scares her. Her crew is scattered throughout the galaxy and her place in the Empire doesn’t exist anymore. She can’t go home to Dromund Kaas. She can’t leave the unknown reaches of space where everything is foreign and it feels like everyone is out to kill her. 

She reads the letter from Theron over and over again and clings to it like a lifeline. It’s something that seems to be unchanged, something that she can still count on. But she can’t help but wonder. Has he really been waiting for five years? Is there really no one else who has caught his eye? They never promised anything to each other. There wasn’t any opportunity to explore what they could be. She comes to the uncomfortable conclusion that her five years of nonexistence except in her own mind and dreams has made her insecure. 

Before, she was never this insecure. She was confident and almost always certain of her every move. Now she hesitates and overanalyzes. Nights in her bunk are spent tossing and turning, thinking and worrying. The only thing she has to calm her down is the letter. She reads it several times every day, memorizing every word. But she is too much of a coward to answer it. She doesn’t know what to say or how to say it. 

Her relationship with Theron is only the second serious relationship she has ever had. There is much she doesn’t know about him and that he doesn’t know about her. She feels uncomfortable with the thought of putting her deepest thoughts and feelings into a letter. But she starts writing down little notes. A list of things she wants to tell Theron when they meet. Things that he deserves to know before they put a label on whatever they might be or become. She is not an idiot. Five years is a long time to expect things to stay the same. Or to expect something as undefined as their relationship just to work.

She fears what’s changed, and at the same time she wants to embrace it. As she is no longer affiliated with the Empire and Theron no longer is part of the SIS, they actually have a chance to be together. She feels foolishly romantic as she hopes. She was burned by betrayal once, she shouldn’t hope too much. But she does. Her chest feels warm as she thinks of the warmth of his body and mouth when they kissed.

She hated their last goodbye on Ziost. She wanted to ask him to wait for her. To wait for her to do something, she wasn’t even sure what. But there was something in his eyes holding her back. She couldn’t even ask. Asking would have made it all harder on them.

Now, she has a chance. She scribbles down several more new things she wants to tell Theron. She owes him honesty, and she plans to deliver. How, she isn’t sure. She has never been the best at these things.

Everything happens in a blur with Zakuul. When she finally lands on Odessen her heart is beating loudly in her ears, drowning out the sounds in the docking bay. 

He still looks the same. Five years on, he still even wears the same jacket. His smile is still as wonderful. He is older, but it makes him look even better. He still makes her weak in the knees when he looks at her. 

“Theron Shan.” She says, unable to hide her smile, as he walks up to her. 

“Hadn’t seen you in a while, wasn’t sure you’d remember me.” He answers. She rolls her eyes and she is about to be sarcastic, but holds herself back. She owes him honesty, as he probably is as unsure of where they stand as she is.

“It’s great to see you again, Theron.” She says and smiles. 

His whole demeanor relaxes at that and she knows immediately that she made the right call. “Good. Wasn’t sure, based on what Lana said you went through.” He pauses a little. “What you’re going through.”

He walks off to the edge on the landing platform, and she follows. “It’s been a long five years. Feels like everything changed.”

She snorts and tries to hold back her laughter. “You’re telling me. I woke up after the world’s worst nap only to realize nothing I knew exists anymore.” Suddenly she doesn’t feel like laughing anymore. She looks at him. “Well. At least some things changed for the better. You got better looking.” She grins a little and winks at him. 

He looks a little doubtful. “I don’t know about that but, hey. I’ll take it.” 

She wants to kiss him right there and then. But then he shows her that they salvaged her ship. The only place that has been her home for a long time. She chokes a little with all the emotions and memories that accompany that ship.  
“Thank you.” She whispers and stares at it. She wonders if any of her things are still left there. Like the silly holopictures of her and Vette, the artifacts she and Jaesa has collected and… well. She might want to not think about her engagement ring. It holds no value anymore, even though she still thinks kind of fondly of Malavi.

“When you have a moment, it’s time for that official stuff. I’ll be inside.” Theron makes an aborted motion, like he wants to put his hand on her shoulder but thinks better of it. He leaves her alone with her thoughts instead. She is thankful. She needs a moment of peace and contemplation before she needs to take charge again.

As she is introduced to the specialists of the Alliance, all Drehea can think of is when she can speak to Theron in private. So when introductions are made, she asks if they can catch up. He promises that they’ll talk soon.

…

The cantina on Odessen is lively and filled with people who toast to her. She nods at them a little awkwardly. She isn’t used to not knowing everyone she works with personally. She isn’t really comfortable with the idea that she is some kind of unifying force, bridging the abyss between Imperial and Republic forces. 

She sees Theron and Lana at the bar and she can’t help but smile. The scene is familiar. Maybe not the bar, but Theron’s frown and Lana’s eyeroll is such a familiar sight that she can’t help but chuckle as she walks over to them.

“Hey, look who it is.” Theron says as she approaches. “Don’t worry, we didn’t really start without you.”

Lana turns and smiles at her. “Yes, we’ve only just begun. I wasn’t sure you’d attend.”

“My first drink in five years? Wouldn’t miss it.” Drehea says with a grin as Koth slides a glass with something over the bar towards her. She sips the drink quickly, it tastes sweet and only lightly of alcohol. It’s perfect. “Need a chance to unwind after… well. Everything. Thanks.”

Koth nods at her and looks at Theron. “Exactly, now get this guy to cheer up.”

“I’m reasonably cheery.” Theron says defensively. “I’m joining in.” He almost looks like he is pouting. It’s adorable, in Drehea’s opinion.

She grins. “Actually, Theron. Why don’t we catch up?”

Theron looks at her with a smile of his own. “Let’s go.”

Lana smiles knowingly at them as they leave. 

…  
Theron tells her about leaving the SIS when everything changed and how it didn’t feel right anymore. He tells her about how he kept doing his job but not for the Republic anymore, just against Zakuul. 

To hear that his loyalty to the Republic has diminished makes her hopeful. Someday, when this war with Zakuul is over, she can see them have a future if they’re not too attached to either the Empire or the Republic. She wants that, but for it to work, they both need to lose some of their loyalties. Hers is probably more easily lost, as the Empire she knew doesn’t exist anymore.

“I’ll do everything I can to keep things running smoothly around here.”

This is her chance. “So, you’ll take care of anyone who needs you?” She winks at him.

He looks intently at her. “Not just anyone.” His voice is somber. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be there to thaw you out.” He gestures a little uselessly before continuing. “Look at all you’ve accomplished. Everyone who choose to rally behind you.” He steps closer to her. “I haven’t been one of those destiny people for a long time… but this? Sure feels like it.”

She takes his hand and intertwines their fingers. His hand is warm and smooth. She looks him in the eyes. “If you mean being here with you, I agree.” She pulls him closer and kisses him for the first time in over five years. 

The kiss sparks the same warmth in her chest that it did before. He cups her face gently and she rests her own arms around his middle. The kiss is soft, until his tongue finds its way into her mouth and one of his hands get tangled in her hair. She gasps a little as one of his hands finds her hair tie and pulls it loose. She can’t even remember the last time another person saw her with her hair down. She pulls away slightly from him as he lets his fingers comb through her hair. 

“You’re beautiful.” He says quietly.

She feels her cheeks heat up. “You’re not so bad yourself.” She tries to deflect. 

He grins knowingly and seeks out her lips once more. This time, there is an obvious hunger to his movements. One of his hands is still tangled in her hair, the other one is moving along her side and underneath her cloak. She allows her hands to wander across his chest as they kiss. The desire inside her burns as Theron moves the hand on her side underneath her clothes. Reluctantly she pulls aways. Her lips are swollen from kissing and her body feels hot.

“Not that this isn’t lovely Theron, but-” She starts to say. He shuts her up with a gentle kiss, lacking the heat from before.

“I know.” He says with a smile. “We’ll go slow.”

She smiles back and kisses him softly. “Why don’t we pick up a bottle of wine at the bar and take this back to my room?” As she says it she realizes how it sounds. “We’ll talk.” She adds, cheeks burning. 

He grins and puts his arm around her. He kisses the top of her head and she can feel his smile. “Sounds perfect.”

Drehea quickly puts her hair into it’s usual updo and straightens out her robes. She looks at Theron for a second before linking their hands together decisively. He doesn’t say anything but he squeezes her hand a little tighter. Together they liberate a bottle of wine and two glasses from the bar before retiring to her room.

Her room is fairly nice. It’s a lot bigger than her ship quarters but Drehea thinks she might like it here. Especially when Theron sits relaxed on her couch with his red leather jacket haphazardly thrown across the back of it. 

She takes off her robe, leaving her in a black tunic and leggings. She pours them a glass of wine each and sits down on the couch beside Theron. They sip their wine in comfortable silence before he breaks it.

“How do you feel?” He asks quietly.

She shrugs. “I don’t know. Glad to be out of carbonite, but honestly… It’s a lot to take in. All that’s changed. Have I changed?” She asks him. 

“Well, you certainly look just the same. Just as lovely.” He says with a wink before turning more somber. “I don’t know if you’ve changed. You seem to be pretty much the same to me.” He sighs. “But we don’t really know each other that well, do we?” He looks intently at her. “But that doesn’t mean that I don’t know how I feel about you.”

“I know. I know how I feel about you too.” She takes his hand. “Let’s play a game.”

He looks amused. “A game?”

“Well, more like talking. You tell me something and I’ll tell you something?” She kisses his cheek. 

“Okay, I’m game.” He says easily and puts his arm around her shoulders and pulls her close to him. “So… what do you want to know?”

She thinks for a little while. “Tell me about your family?”

He snorts. “Well, you know my mother and her special brand of parenting. My dad is Jace Malcom, him I’m sure you know of. We speak. Sometimes.” Theron looks away. Drehea doesn’t push him further on the subject.

Theron looks at her. “Tell me about your family.”

“My mother used to be an assistant to a lord on the Dark Council when I was a child. Her name was Adhami. My father is a scientist with an unhealthy interest in old tombs and Imperial history. His name is Azhowi. My mother was assassinated when I was little. My father is missing, it seems.” She snorts. “Not at all unusual. When I grew up he’d go missing once a year or so.”

“What, why?” Theron asks, confusion evident in his voice.

Drehea looks at him. “As I said, unhealthy interest in old tombs. It’s dangerous to dig in old tombs. You never know if you’ll get out again. He’s also forgotten to tell me that he’s going somewhere, at times.” She sighs. “During my apprenticeship, we became distant. I was afraid that something would happen to him if people knew where he was, so I kept away.” 

Theron squeezes her hand. “I’m sorry. Do you want me to look into it? See if we can find him?”

Drehea smiles at him and hugs him tightly. “Yes. Thank you.”

They sit in comfortable silence. She knows she can get used to this. 

“Tell me about your crew. From before.” Theron says quietly after a while. 

She grins against his neck. “Well… it was an odd collection of people. But I liked them. The first person on my crew was Vette.” Drehea sits up a little more so she can look at Theron while she speaks. “She was a slave and was given to me when I was an acolyte on Korriban.”

Theron looks horrified. “She was your slave?”

“That’s how the Empire works sometimes. I’m not saying I agree with it. But I took her on. I freed her the first chance I got.” Drehea smiles. “She’s my best friend.” She picks up her glass and sips the wine. “I had my apprentice too. Jaesa Williams.”

“She used to be a Jedi.” Theron says quietly. “I think the whole galaxy heard the tale of her fall to Dark side.” 

Drehea snorts. “She doesn’t use the Dark side. That’s the Republic telling lies.”

Theron arches an eyebrow and looks at her. “But you’re a Sith. She’s your apprentice… and you use the Dark side?”

Drehea shrugs. “I like to think of my way of using the Force as… passionate. I’m not driven by anger or hate. Mostly.” She smiles at Theron. “I’m driven by passion. Passion doesn’t necessarily mean bad things.” She winks at him and is delighted when he blushes. 

“Okay, noted. Moving on.” He says.

“Well, then there was Broonmark. We weren’t as close as I was to Vette and Jaesa. Mainly because Broonmark is a Talz with a bloodlust to rival the most depraved of Sith.” She shuddered. “Then there was lieutenant Pierce. I liked him fairly well. He always questioned authority when it needed to be questioned. But also a bit bloodthirsty for my sake.”

She sighs and takes a deep breath. “Then there was… Malavi Quinn.” She looks away from Theron. “He was an officer in the military. A brilliant and honorable man.” She sighs. “Well, at least I thought so. I fell in love with him and I think he loved me. But he wasn’t loyal to me. He was loyal to my Master, Darth Baras. So when Darth Baras ordered Quinn to kill me, he tried.” She looks at Theron. “After that. Well. Not much good foundation for a relationship left.”

Theron stares at her. “You’ve lived an interesting life.” He says finally. 

Drehea laughs. “True.” Then she kisses him. “But, I wouldn’t change it. Not when you’re here now.”

**Author's Note:**

> So this is part two of this collection. I have one additional piece written already and there are probably going to be at least two more apart from that one.


End file.
